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Anukramanika Parva
There is only one chapter containing 275 verses in this section. Sage Saunaka had been performing in the Naimisa forest a sacrifice of the type Satra that would run for 12 years.All the ascetics had gathered there. At that time there arrived the pauranic (epic-teller) Ugrasravas, the son of sage Lomaharshana. After the usual enquiry of good health was over, the sages expressed their desire to listen to the story of the Mahabharata. Having saluted the Supreme Lord, Ugrasravas started to recount the story of the Mahabharata as narrated by sage Vyasa. Sage Vyasa who was deep in contemplation had visualized the whole Mahabharata as if it occurred before his eyes. He saw the creation, the Vedas,the four purusharthas Dharma, Artha etc., and the code of conduct of mankind.Vyasa related everything concisely and also comprehensively. Then he thought of imparting to his disciples the epic Mahabharata which he had seen by the power of his austerities. Just then the creator, who cared for the welfare of the worlds, appeared before him.Having saluted him,Vyasa described to him the features of the epic and also his intention of teaching it to his disciples. Brahma advised him to mentally request Ganesha for taking the dictation, and left for his abode Later, Vyasa had mentally invited Ganesha, and the latter appeared before him.Vyasa requested him again mentally, to act as the scribe for the epic he was going to write. Then Ganesha put a condition that Vyasa should dictate in such a way that not even for a moment would his quill pause. Vyasa also put a clause that Ganesha should write only if he understood what was being dictated. Ganesha agreed to it and became Vyasa’s scribe. For this reason Vyasa recited now and then some verses whose meaning was incomprehensible. Around 8800 verses of that type (famous by name GRANTHA GRANTHIS) are found. This section is also called Sangrahadhyaya. Not only was Vyasa the author of the Mahabharata but he was the protector of the clan of the Bharats also. At the command of his mother Satyavati and in accordance with the desire of Bhishma, Vyasa begot two sons Dhritarashtra and Pandu by the wives of Vichitravirya and another son Vidura by the servant maid of Victravirya’s wives. Later he retired to his hermitage. After the death of all his three sons,Vyasa told the story of the Mahabharata. At the request of Janamejeya, Vyasa directed his disciple Vaisampayana to recount the Mahabharata. King Pandu, who conquered the whole world, was living with the sages in the forest because of his love for hunting.One day he killed an ascetic couple who were engaged in amorous acts in the guise of deer, and was cursed. From then onwards he continued to live in the forest. There he had five sons by the grace of Yama, Vayu, Indra and the Aswini twins. However, he died because of the sage’s curse while he indulged in intercourse with his wife Madri. The latter entered the funeral pyre following her husband. The ascetics conducted Kunti and the Pandavas to Hastinapura and handed over their responsibility to Bhishma. The Pandavas grew up there, became experts in using weapons, and married Draupadi. Afterwards Dharmaraja performed the Rajasuya sacrifice.Duryodhana became jealous of the prosperity of the Pandavas. Defeated in the game of dice, the Pandavas went to the forest, and later lived in disguise. Even at the completion of their incognito stay, Duryodhana refused to part with their kingdom.For this reason, a war broke out between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Upon the annihilation of the Kauravas in that war, the deeply anguished Dhritarashtra shared his grief with Sanjaya. (This part is called the Yadasrausha parva which contains 70 verses.) In order to appease him Sanjaya recounted the tales of the ancestral kings, and told him that it was by the power of the time everything happened. Vidura consoled Dhritarashtra, who was distraught having lost all his sons. Based on this history, Vyasa narrated the meritorious Mahabharata, which was like an Upanishad. If any one reads even one foot of a stanza of this epic with devotion, his sins are removed. It is the best among the itihasas. It’s said that if any one recites it for the Brahmins partaking Shraddha meals,his forefathers will get inexhaustible food and water. In ancient times the gods put the four Vedas in one pan of the balance and the Mahabharata in the other. The Mahabharata outweighed the Vedas.From then onwards because of greatness and weight, the epic is called Mahabharata. This is the origin of the name of the epic.Summary by Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha References Category:Adi Parva